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John Hageman

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John Hageman covers North Dakota politics from the Forum News Service bureau in Bismarck. He attended the University of Minnesota in the Twin Cities, where he studied journalism and political science, and he previously worked at the Grand Forks Herald and Bemidji Pioneer.

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jhageman_

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(701) 255-5607

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BISMARCK—The U.S. Department of Justice awarded North Dakota $10 million to reimburse the state for costs associated with the Dakota Access Pipeline protests, Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., said Tuesday, Aug. 15. The $10 million represents only a portion of the estimated $38 million the state and Morton County have incurred from the monthslong protests. Hoeven previously said the state shouldn't expect the federal government to cover the entire bill.

BISMARCK—A resolution has not yet come in a long-running bankruptcy case involving an off-track horse race wagering company despite the North Dakota Legislature setting aside nearly $16 million to resolve the issue earlier this year.

BISMARCK—North Dakota regulators delayed a hearing meant to examine potential violations by the company that built the Dakota Access Pipeline Tuesday, Aug. 15. An attorney for the pipeline company asked the three-member Public Service Commission to consider delaying Thursday's investigation hearing "to allow PSC staff and DAPL to meet, confer and hopefully resolve many, if not all, of the issues to be discussed" at the hearing. Commissioner Julie Fedorchak was the only dissenting vote against granting that request.

BISMARCK—Sen. Heidi Heitkamp called North Korea the "the single largest existential threat to our country" on Monday, Aug. 14. The North Dakota Democrat's remarks came during a lunch meeting of the Bismarck Lions Club, where she discussed health care, tax and regulatory reform, and offered her opinion of Republican President Donald Trump.

BISMARCK—A firm contracted by the company that built the Dakota Access Pipeline disputed last week the allegation it was providing "security and private investigative services" during the monthslong protests against the project. North Carolina-based TigerSwan's answer to a lawsuit from the North Dakota Private Investigative and Security Board was filed Thursday, Aug. 10, about about six weeks after the board's complaint was filed in Burleigh County District Court. The regulatory board accused TigerSwan of operating in the state without a license and sought an injunction.

BISMARCK—State and local public health officials are assessing how funding cuts may affect anti-tobacco efforts in North Dakota after the elimination of a standalone state agency dedicated to such programs.

BISMARCK — North Dakota lawmakers may consider increased reporting requirements for ride-hailing companies like Uber and Lyft when they reconvene in 2019, a Republican legislator said Friday, Aug. 4. Under state law, "transportation network companies" must report the number of crashes its drivers were involved in while a passenger was on board to the state Department of Transportation. But in almost all cases, those biannual reports don't detail the severity of those incidents.

BISMARCK — The state of North Dakota will not enforce two new laws amid a court challenge from a national group representing pharmacy benefit managers. In an order filed late last month, U.S. District Court Judge Daniel Hovland said state officials have "provided assurances" to the plaintiff, the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association, that they won't enforce the laws until the court rules on the association's request for a preliminary injunction. The association withdrew its request for a temporary restraining order, the judge wrote.